At 5:00 PM yesterday GM Peter Chiarelli addressed the Boston
media via conference call. The call was in regards to the July 1st Free Agent Frenzy which was anything but for the Bruins and Black and Gold faithful.

When he was asked about the potential of trades to shore up
the significant void left by future hall of fame winger Jarome Iginla,
Chiarelli acknowledged that the Bruins have a problem, but a problem many NHL
teams would be envious of. The Bruins have quite the surplus of NHL caliber
defenseman.

“We can’t go into the year with nine NHL
defensemen,” Chiarelli said, adding, “I have to do something here, but I’m in
no hurry. It may be that we see how the preseason goes, with who’s mixing and
matching with whom.” via Dan Cagen at MetroWest Daily News

As it stands right now, the Bruins have 9 defenseman in
their system that Chiarelli counts as “NHL Ready” including Boston University
product David Warsofsky. Chiarelli has already admitted that something needs to be
done with this situation. Look for the Bruins to deal from strength to address
either the cap hell that they are dealing with or the gaping hole on the right
wing.

The Fourth
Period has reported from one of their sources that the Bruins are indeed shopping
Johnny Boychuk to teams around the NHL. Reported potential destinations include
the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche. Boychuk would
likely fetch the largest return out of the “expendible” defensemen as he is an
established NHL regular and has proven to be clutch in big moments for the
Bruins. Boychuk has one more year remaining on his current contract. His AAV
and cap hit come in at $3,366,667.

Johnny Boychuk is rumored to be available via trade.

Chiarelli also mentioned that Bruins fans shouldn’t expect a
deal or signing to come in right away, but he has had a few trade conversations
over the last few weeks. “I have to do something here, but I’m in no hurry. It
may be that we see how the preseason goes, with who’s mixing and matching with
whom.” One things for sure – changes on the back end are coming.

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